China’s fascination with Tokyo and Paris

More than 120 million Chinese tourists made overseas trips in 2015, up 10.09 percent year-on-year.

Chongqing, China - Tokyo and Paris are the most preferred tourist destinations for Chinese short-distance and long-distance outbound travels, respectively, according to a report issued by the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) at its meeting held in Chongqing Municipality in southwest China.

The WTCF report says that Chinese tourists spent $215-billion during their overseas travels in 2015, accounting for 17 percent all consumption by international customers.

More than 120 million Chinese tourists made overseas trips in 2015, up 10.09 percent year-on-year.

America, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Britain saw the biggest increase in Chinese tourists in 2015. According to the report, Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Osaka, Jeju Island, Nagoya, Pattaya, Singapore, Inchon and Busan were the top 10 most preferred cities for Chinese tourists' short-distance outbound travel.

The report said that the strong growth of China's outbound tourism has contributed substantially to the world's tourist market. Cheng Hong, deputy mayor of Beijing, was named WTCF executive vice president at the two-day meeting.

WTCF is a non-governmental organisation established in 2012. It now has a membership of 172 cities.